


What Ifs

by Scribbles97



Series: Post Episode Ficlets [23]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Angst, Character Analysis, Post Episode Fic, Whump, character responses, sos part 1, sos part 2, spoilers VAYOR
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-19 18:22:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19138174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scribbles97/pseuds/Scribbles97
Summary: What if it had been a real rescue Gordon?And then it was a very real rescue.SPOILERS FOR SOS PART 1 and 2





	1. Chapter 1

Scott was waiting for him as Thunderbird One docked, even from the other end of the gantry he could see his little brother gulp. Even once the seat had extended out, Gordon remained in place, gripping the arm rests of dear life. 

 

“Hey Scott!” He called across the space, “Mind giving me a hand?” 

 

He folded his arms, raising an eyebrow at Gordon with a smirk, “Why? Struggling to find your ‘air legs’.”

 

Gordon’s face spoke volumes as it twisted into a wince, stretching one leg forward to get a footing on the platform, “You know this is stupid right? Surely there are rules dictating that you need a hand rail up this high?”

 

“It got in the way,” Scott shrugged, “Besides, keep your weight down, you won’t go anywhere.”

 

He could tell his brother was unconvinced as he, ungracefully, slithered down to the platform, triggering the pressure sensors to begin the retraction. 

 

“Have you been keeping up with your sims?” He asked as Gordon crawled onto solid ground and began to pull himself up by the railing. 

 

“Of course I have!” Gordon snapped, immediately defensive and giving the truth away, “Ask Alan, he’s been helping me.”

 

“Uh huh.” Scott nodded taking a step back as the smell john had warned him about drifted across to him, “Well, once you’ve showered and got a clean uniform on, you can damn well scrub my cockpit.”

 

His shoulders fell, but Scott know his brother’s whole body would slump with his next condition, “And then you and I are going to spend the evening working on your sims until you get them right.”

 

“Aww come on!” Gordon protested, “It was fine! You can check the flight recordings, once I got going I remembered what I was doing it was just--”

 

Scott was one step ahead, “I already  _ have _ checked the recordings Gordon, twenty metres, that’s how close you came to hitting the ocean. What would you have done if it were a real rescue and you’d ditched my ship in the ocean?”

 

It was a low blow to guilt trip him with the idea of a rescue, but the facts were there. They were all meant to be rated for the others ships, it was a vital part of the operation considering the number of hands they had. He knew that Gordon knew that fact, but studying and recalling things that didn’t interest him was hard. Gordon didn’t enjoy being an air pilot, it was a fact rarely discussed. Too many times there had been close calls up in the air for Gordon’s liking, Scott didn’t blame him for being put off. That didn’t make it an excuse though. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Gordon sighed, “I screwed up.”

 

Scott nodded, “Make it right and I’ll let you off. We never know when we might need to to pilot another ship, you can’t rely on Alan all the time.”

 

Gordon nodded, eyes wide, “I promise, I will.”

 

Scott had to smile briefly, nodding towards the changing room in the hanger, “Now go and get showered before you stink the whole villa out.”

 

He straightened, giving a mock salute before jogging off, “Once I’m done, One will be cleaner than you’ve ever seen it.”

 

Not holding his breath, Scott shook his head before he turned to set up the simulations for once Gordon had at least attempted to clean out his ship.


	2. Grandma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SOS PART 2 SPOILERS VAYOR!

She openly worried about all those who lived on the island and everyone knew it. That was probably why Virgil’s first reaction to John’s announcement hadn’t been to run to his chute, but to look to her in concern. She hadn’t been able to help the shake in her voice when she had told them to go. 

 

“John I can take over--”

 

“No,” He cut her off, appearing next to Gordon’s biometrics, “I’m staying with him until someone gets there.”

 

She had wanted to argue, to tell him it was more important for him to come home so they could fly out to whichever hospital Gordon ended up at. He was as protective as any of the others and would never leave one abandoned. 

 

“Give me the readouts,” She ordered, “You focus on trying to raise him.”

 

His lips were thin, pressed together as he nodded, “Blood pressure has dropped, heart is weak but holding steady.”

 

She folded her arms, nodding as she took a breath, “F.A.B.”

 

The stats appeared before her, an ECG from his suit showing the pattern she knew was healthy despite being slow. 

 

“Grandma?” John murmured softly, “Eos informed Penelope that we’d lost touch with him, do you think we should…”

 

Sally nodded, already reaching for the comm, “I’ll speak to her now.”

 

Penny was clearly tense across the comm, worry creased her young face. Sally’s chest clenched in sympathy for her. It couldn’t be fair that the pair could be torn apart before they had chance to even truly begin their relationship. 

 

Once the comline was closed, she took a moment to bow her head and take a breath. She had never been a religious woman, more a believer in fate than anything else, but she took the chance to murmur a little prayer. 

 

“Lucy… Jeff… don’t take him yet. Please, just send him back to us.”


	3. John

He swallowed as his Grandmother closed the comm, allowing him to turn his attention back to the still hologram form of his younger brother. 

 

“Come on Gordon,” He murmured, “Give me something here.”

 

He held his breath for a moment, he’d turned the volume of the comm up as high as he could, hoping to hear even just the smallest snippet of sound. 

 

“Penny told you the other week, she’s going to give you hell for this, you promised not to scare her again. I’m telling you I’m not getting involved in this one, it was bad enough after the Supreme Barrier Reef and she’s not even had chance to say anything about  _ yesterday _ .”

 

He swallowed, fiddling with the settings and checking where the others were up to, “Looks like she’s coming to get you though, gee Gordo, how the hell have you managed that?”

 

“Ughnn.”

 

He froze. It had been soft, barely a noise worth paying attention to. But it was something nonetheless. 

 

“Gordon?” He asked, “Can you hear me?”

 

“Br’ns… gonna...kill me…”

 

John had to smile, it took two hands for him to count the number of times Gordon had wrecked his ship to the point of no repair. Then came the sour memory of who had done this to his little brother. 

 

It hadn’t been an accident. 

 

“You’re gonna be okay Gordo,” He reassured, unsure if he could hear him, “The others are on their way. Penny’s coming down to you now.”

 

“P’n.” Came the breathy response. 

 

“Yeah,” He reassured, “Can you open your eyes? You’ll be able to see her.”

 

There was no response, just chatter across the comm and Scott and Alan prepared to lift the vent. Then Penny’s own soft breath that told him more of the situation than any scans possibly could, “Oh Gordon.”

 

“Come on Gords,” He sighed, “Hang in there, if not for me, then for her.”


	4. Scott

It was a relief to have Gordon on Two, even if it was unconscious and seriously injured. One leg, one arm, and multiple ribs broken, serious whiplash that was flagging up damage to neck muscles, not to mention the swelling on the side of his head. 

 

The latter was causing him concern. Head injuries weren’t good, more trouble than anything else put together in Scott’s experience. Grandma had been right, what Gordon needed was beyond the facilities on Tracy Island. 

 

Still, there had to be something more they could do until they got to a hospital. 

 

More specifically, something that  _ Virgil _ could do. 

 

“Alan,” He spoke without looking up, “Go and swap out with Virgil, get us to the Hospital as fast and as smoothly as you can.”

 

In the corner of his eye, he saw his youngest brother straighten, undoubtedly ready to protest until their Grandmother cut in, “Alan, he’s right, Virgil knows what can be done.”

 

Scott forced himself to look up as he swallowed, “I’ll be up after you, but for a minute I need our best pilot to do what he does.”

 

Young, wide, eyes were glistening in the fluorescence of the lights but he still nodded, affording one last glance past Scott to their prone brother before turning quickly. 

 

Parker cleared his throat and nodded, “H’I’ll go and see that master h’Alan is quite alright.”

 

A nod of thanks and the older man left silently leaving just he and Penny. She hadn’t left his side, not even afforded herself chance to remove her helmet. Her hand stroked gently through his hair, brushing it back off of his face in a way Scott remembered their mother doing when he had been just a child. 

 

“He promised Scott.” She whispered, “He promised that he wouldn’t put himself in danger and wouldn’t scare me.”

 

Anger flared at the memory of the circumstances, “It wasn’t his fault Penelope. He tried…” Words failed him as he shook his head, “He got his helmet on at least.”

 

Her smile was tight as she looked up to him, “Small mercies I suppose.”

 

“Looking at the state of him I don’t think the helmet helped much.” Virgil’s voice was gruff, rough with emotion that he was no doubt withholding for the moment. 

 

“Trust me Virgil,” Penelope nodded, “You didn’t see the state of his ship, if he didn’t have his helmet on…”

 

She didn’t need to finish her sentence as she looked back to him, and Scott had to look to the biometrics to remind himself that Gordon was still breathing, albeit barely. Clearing his throat he nodded to Virgil, reaching out to grasp his shoulder as he passed him, “Look after him.”


	5. Alan

He knew Scott hadn’t sent him away because of his piloting skills. Neither had Grandma. Virgil could have just as easily set the autopilot for the hospital and turned back up for landing. 

 

He wanted to thank them for sending him away though. 

 

Gordon was many things, the family joker, his big brother, so full of life and energy. To see him so still, so pale and limp in the water he was usually so at home in, it seemed wrong. He couldn’t help but shudder at the thought. Four had been crushed, in a way worse than when the Mechanic had torn the ship in two. At least Gordon had had warning and a chance to escape then, at least they hadn’t been crushed beneath tonnes of boiling hot rock, at least he hadn’t had to watch as his big brother was pulled by the wreckage. 

 

“Alan?” John’s voice was soft, his avatar appearing slowly rather than blinking into sudden existence. It was something he did when things weren’t so urgent, an obvious attempt in softening his sudden presence. 

 

“He—“ He cleared his throat, realising just how off it sounded, “Hey.”

 

“I’m on my way down, I’m going to land the space elevator at the airport and drive over with Grandma, she’s just left the Island.”

 

He wasn’t sure why his big brother was passing on the information, it didn’t really matter as long as they were all somewhere and together, that was all he really cared about in that moment. 

 

“Are you okay?” John asked, eyes full of concern.

 

Growing up with four older brothers, it was instinct to claim he was fine but as his mouth opened to speak, words failed him and his eyes betrayed him as a single tear leaked out and trickled down his face.

 

“Oh Master Alan,” 

 

He had to turn to be sure it was Parker speaking, the strong accent far softer than he had ever heard. 

 

“Your brother will be quite alright really,” Parker nodded, perching on the edge of the co-pilot seat, Gordon’s seat. 

 

“‘E just needs to set himself right again and ‘e’ll be right as rain. Don’t you know what that brother of yours is like? A right tough nut, we ain’t gettin’ rid of ‘im that easily.”

 

He had to smile at Parkers assurances, despite the worry still settled deep in his stomach. 

 

“But right now Master Alan, ‘e needs his brother to get ‘im to that hospital. An’ between you and me, I don’ think he has a better little brother for the job.”

 

A laugh escaped him at that comment as he swiped at his cheek, “Right, because I’m his  _ only _ little brother.”

 

Parker shook his head, standing again as he patted his shoulder, “No, because you’re the best pilot of all your brothers.”


	6. Virgil

He’d treated people for worse before in the very same bed. He’d placed a thousand IV lines and placed a hundred dressings on head wounds that simply refused to just stood bleeding. 

 

It was always different when it was family though. It always felt wrong. 

 

It felt wrong to strip away the suit, but they’d learned from experience it was better to do it enroute where possible before it got hacked to pieces by doctors with blunt scissors. It felt wrong to be in the presence of Gordon yet to have such peace and quiet. It felt wrong to not take him home, to the Island where they knew they were safe and away from harm. 

 

Grandma had been right though, this was beyond them no matter how much he had hoped otherwise. The way Penny had dragged him out of Four probably hadn’t helped, as he understood she’d taken the arm that was broken to drag him from the wreck. Not that he was ungrateful, it was simply an observation that the medic in him made. They would all owe her for a long time for how she had handled the situation.

 

She had been cool, calm as he had asked her to take Gordon’s sash and then various parts of his suit as it came apart. Each item had been folded carefully and placed on the opposite bed before she had returned to Gordon’s head. If she glanced down at the bruises forming across his chest, Virgil pretended not to notice. He was too busy trying to settle his shaking hands as he tried to get a vein. 

 

Just as he was taping the line in place, awkwardly trying to avoid the broken arm closest to him whilst reaching to the good arm, there was a soft sigh, quickly followed by a pained groan. 

 

If he’d have thought about it, he would have waited, let Penny talk to him first. Medic training had taken over though and he was pointing across to the drawer and asking for a pen torch as he stepped to Gordon’s head. 

 

“Hey Gordo, you with us?”

 

A heavy sigh, his lips parted as his eyes screwed up. There was a soft noise of protest as he tried to move his head, only to be stilled by Virgil’s gentle hand. 

 

“We’re on the way to a hospital Gords.” He murmured, “Can tell me what hurts?”

 

“H’rts,” It was barely even enough to actually count as a word, but it was more of a reassurance than nothing. The noise of protest in the back of his throat as Virgil pulled at each of his eyes in turn to shine the torch at his pupils, built that reassurance as the pupils constricted almost normally. 

 

“‘M s’rry,” Were the next slurred words, “P’n, ‘m s’rry.”

 

“Gordon, it’s okay, this one wasn’t your fault.”

 

He stepped back, letting her take up position by Gordon’s head as she crouched so she was on a level with him. As wrong as it seemed to move away, it felt right to at the same time. Penny would look after him for as long as he needed.


	7. Penelope

Never had she seen the man so still. Usually so animated and full of life, the memory of how limp he had been as she had dragged him from the wreck still tore at her heart. 

 

She’d never really understood what it felt like to have one’s heart torn in two until they had settled in FAB One, his head in her lap. Perhaps she shouldn’t have removed his helmet, but she had wanted to feel his breath for herself and not simply trust the movement of his chest with each breath. The wound on his head had left a mark on the knee of her wetsuit dark and angry like the hostile feelings she suddenly felt towards the Hood and his Chaos Crew.

 

As her shoulders tightened and her fists clenched, a light hand on her arm drew her attention away, “I’ve returned your wetsuit to the car m’lady.”

 

She smiled and nodded her thanks, pursing her lips as she took a slow breath, Kayo was on the case with the Chaos Crew, she would no doubt have them in hand before long.

 

“Gentlemen,” Parker nodded to the brothers waiting alongside her, “Your Gran arrived h’and said you were all to meet her and Master John at the ‘ospital entrance.”

 

She watched as, as one, the boys stood. Virgil took her shoulder before leaving, giving a gentle squeeze, “If he comes back whilst we’re gone…” He shrugged, tiling his head with a small smile, “Don’t feel that you should wait.”

 

Reaching up she forced a smile as she squeezed his hand, “Thank you. Though I doubt you will allow yourselves to be long.”

 

He chuckled with a nod before turning to follow his brothers, leaving her alone with her thoughts as she waited.

 

When the doctors and nurses returned with him, they were smiling and chatty. Apparently unconcerned about his state. She waited as they positioned him on the bed for monitoring, checking the equipment was as it should be. 

 

When one Doctor returned to her and asked her status, she stumbled. It was Parker that stepped forward with folded arms and spoke for her, “She’s ‘is girlfriend, and the Tracy’s said she could go ‘nd see ‘im when ‘e got back.”

 

“I saw her come in with them,” One of the nurses supplied helpfully, “She’s good.”

 

The doctor nodded, holding out his datapad with a series of scans, “He’s got some healing to do, his lower leg and knee were fractured but not seriously, his arm and collarbone may take a while longer as will his ribs. The damage to his spine is unclear due to the bruising so we’ll be running more tests once that’s settled.”

 

She nodded in return, able to see the neck brace and head bandage through the door, “And what about--”

 

“The collar is a precaution until we’re happy there is absolutely no neck damage, the muscles seem to have been pulled with the jolt so it’ll also help support those for a day or two. The head bandage is simply to hold the dressing in place where he’d split his forehead open, adhesive dressings still don’t stick like they should.”

 

“H’all relatively minor then?” Parked asked, arms still folded.

 

The Doctor hesitated before explaining, “In the grand scheme of things, yes, Gordon got away lightly. However, his recovery will still take time.”

 

Leaving only the most important question of all, “May I see him?”

 

The Doctor stepped back to hold the door in answer. She glanced back to Parker, “You’d best tell the boys that he’s back. I’m sure they shall be eager to see him.”

“Right you are m’lady.”

 

There was no hesitation in going to Gordon, to take his good hand and lean down to press a light kiss to the top of his head. 

 

“Oh Gordon,” She found herself sighing for the second time that day as she closed her eyes, head resting against his, “You do terrify me sometimes.”

 

The twitch of his fingers around her was slight, but enough to make her smile as she whispered, “You’re meant to be resting.”

 

A pained breath in followed by a heavy exhale, “‘M ‘kay.”

 

She shook her head, “Have you seen the state of yourself?”

 

“He’s back,” Scott sighed as he entered the room. It was automatic for Penny to step back as the other brothers followed each surrounding Gordon as he blinked slowly. 

 

Looking down, she had to blink back the sudden dampness in her eyes, unsure just where it had quite come from. Then, a light hand on her shoulder and a handkerchief in front of her that she accepted willingly, turning in to the support if only to hide herself from the family. 

 

“H’I told you m’lady. ‘E’ll be quite alright. It’ll all be quite alright now.”


	8. Gordon

He’d heard and felt everything, from John’s concerned chatter when he didn’t respond, to Penny’s soft sigh over the comm as she had left FAB One, yet his mind had refused to let him respond. Even the prospect of critiquing Penny’s dive hadn’t been enough to persuade his eyes to respond. 

 

Then he knew he wasn’t in Four any longer, but not on Two either. It was too quiet for that, the light beyond his eyelids too dull to be the fluorescent strips he knew lit the med bay. There was warmth too, against his head and shoulder. Not the kind that came from blood as it oozed from a cut, but the kind that came with a gentle touch of reassurance. 

There were words too, but ones he couldn’t quite make out through the haze of his mind even if he could work out that it was Penny speaking. 

 

He wanted to sigh, but doing so just made his chest scream at him even more. His breath hitched in his throat as he screwed his eyes shut. Everything hurt. He wanted to tell her how much everything hurt, but the words wouldn’t form on his lips, instead coming out as some pained whine in the back of his throat. The hand against his head moved softly through his hair, stroking gently like he remembered Mom used to do. It felt nice. 

The roar of Two’s engines was unmistakable and he didn’t need to hear the voices to know his family were around him. Virgil was talking, something about the island. Home sounded good, they’d be safe there out of the reaches of the Hood and the Chaos Crew. If he had had the energy he would have frowned, not understanding what Grandma was doing aboard the ship as she overruled big brother and ordered for hospital. 

Yeah, hospital was probably a better idea no matter how much he hated them. 

 

He wanted to tell them as much, promise that he’d be good and do whatever anyone told him just so long as it stopped hurting so much. The effort was too hard though, he couldn’t even manage to respond to the hand that had taken his and that warm touch that was still combing through his hair.  

 

Then they were talking again, like he wasn’t there to listen as Penny told Scott how he had promised not to scare her again. He didn’t need her to remind him, he had been scared enough himself before the Chaos Crew had even spotted him. It was a quiet confession that he’d been anxious once he had found they were there, what the Mechanic had done to his ship still too fresh in his mind to truly be comfortable at such depths when there was the enemy involved. He hadn’t wanted to scare her too though. 

 

A sharp scratch in the arm that wasn’t aching made him want to protest. Wasn’t he already in enough pain without being poked and prodded?

 

“Gordo?”

 

Virgil. He tried to moved towards the sound, to shift his head as a breath escaped his lips, a white hot searing tearing at his ribs. 

 

“Hospital Gords. What hurts?”

 

Could Virgil not  _ see _ for himself? Was it not obviously clear just how much  _ everything _ hurts? Where was his voice when he needed it?

 

“Hurts.” He thought he managed to breathe though how successful it was he wasn’t sure. 

 

Someone pulled at his eyes and he could only mewl in protest at the brightness of the torch as he tried to turn his head away at the protest of his neck.  

 

What had he wanted to say again?

 

“Sorry,” He breathed, fighting the inky blackness once more, “Pen? You hear? I’m sorry.”

 

And the warm hand was back, light on his head as the gentle voice responded, “This one wasn’t your fault.”

More poking and prodding, the stink of hospital disinfectant that burned his nose. There was no mistaking where he was but still nothing had been done about the pain. 

 

As he came to, there was the unmistakable hum of an MRI scanner. His head ached without the added noise to irritate him. 

 

“Gordon, if you can hear us, can you raise your right arm?” A voice he didn’t recognise came across a speaker. He paused to think for a moment, which was his right again? Probably the one that wasn’t aching like a …

 

“We’ll have you out of there in just a minute Gordon,” The person told him again, “We’re just scanning your head to make sure there’s no damage.”

 

He closed his eyes again, focusing everything he could on the words he wanted to get out, “Hurts.”

 

“Sorry, can you say that again Gordon?”

 

He grunted,  _ no _ he didn’t  _ want _ to have to say it again. 

 

“It hurts.” He croaked, voice hoarse. 

 

The voice grew softer, a tone of sympathy he was familiar with taking over, “We’ll get you on the good stuff once you’re settled in a room.” Then away from the comm, “I want him in a scanner bay for twelve hours to monitor his head and back, after that he can go to a ward.”

 

He didn’t want a scanner bay either, he knew what they were like, cool and clinical and white. He wanted to be home, back with his family and out of the way of people he didn’t know and didn’t trust.

 

But the doctor did as she had promised, taken him to a ward and hooked him up to the strong stuff, almost instantly easing the dull aches and throbbing. Finally he could feel himself relax, the drugs breaking off the sharp awareness that had been plaguing him. 

 

Except then there was a slender, manicured hand in his, warm and comfortable and he had to flex his fingers just enough to acknowledge she was there. 

 

Had he already apologised for scaring her again?

 

“You should be resting.”

 

He managed a small smile as he forced tired eyes open to look to her, “I’m okay.”

 

She was still smiling as she shook her head, “Have you seen the state of yourself?”

 

He was going to respond, something quick and witty and oh so perfect. His brothers, as ever, had a knack for interrupting him just as things were getting good. Yet for once, he wouldn’t complain. It was a relief no doubt for them as well as him, despite the ache in his chest at trying to talk and the grogginess from the drugs he was on. 

 

There was chatter and Grandma promising food, and Kayo. Everything was still fuzzy, dull and muted like he had his helmet on without the speaker. 

 

Then they were gone, just as quickly as they had come, and it was just him and Penny again. He wanted to say something, something more than just a thank you that came to his mind. There were so many other things that he could possibly say, yet none of them could make it past his lips before she was turning to leave. He didn’t remember her ever promising him tea, but he wasn’t about to turn it down. She hesitated by the door, smiling softly as he fought again with his eyes, a losing battle. 

 

“Rest Gordon,” She murmured, at least that was what it sounded like. Almost as soft as a lullaby as she smiled, “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

 

It was that promise that finally allowed him to let sleep claim him.


End file.
